Two Guitars and a Song
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day five hundred and sixty: She was going to be his duet partner, but they broke up... Now Artie needs a new partner.


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 26th cycle. Now cycle 27!_

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><p><strong>"Two Guitars and a Song"<br>Artie/Lucy (OC)**

**A/N: I feel I should point out, this story was planned a few weeks ago,  
>so it has no relation to yesterday's episode ;) <strong>

He'd kind of forgotten about the assignment, if he was going to be honest. After what had gone and unfolded, who would blame him? But then he had to suppose there really was some kind of blame to be put on him… As much as anyone could say otherwise, there would always be some part of break-ups that involved both parties, and this was no different.

They were finally going to have it: their duet. They had never gotten it yet, and he could almost have laughed, thinking how the one other time they had had a real shot at doing this, they had also broken up. Now they had had their second shot at a duet, and that had been cut short by a second and, he had to imagine, final break-up. Now not only did he not have a girlfriend anymore, but he also lost his partner in his Glee assignment.

They were going to rehearse with the band that afternoon. They had broken up even before first period that day. He'd spent the rest of the day just… carrying on, because what else was he supposed to do? But as the end of the day neared, and his meeting with the band neared, he had a decision to make. He hadn't been able to do it, and he ended up wheeling into the room having absolutely no idea what he was going to do. The band wasn't there yet, his friends from before Glee Club… none but one of them, anyway. Lisa, one of the guitarists, had graduated at the end of the previous school year. She'd been replaced by a junior, Lucy Collins. She was nice… kind of funny… He didn't really know her too well, not like he knew the others. When she saw him, her face changed and he wasn't sure why. She looked kind of at a loss for words.

"Hey… Artie…"

"Are the others coming?" he asked.

"Well… No." He frowned. "They heard about you and Brittany and they figured you wouldn't need them." He looked down for a moment, then…

"So why are you here?"

"Well I didn't know if you'd show up anyway, so I figured…" she shrugged.

"Thanks," he told her, starting to head out.

"I'm sorry," she called after him, and he stopped. He didn't know where the idea came from, probably desperation to both see this assignment through and to clear his mind, even if it might not have seemed too sound of a plan on that part. He turned back to face her.

"Can I ask you something?" he moved to get his guitar from among the instruments sitting there unattended. He looked back to her.

"Uh, sure," she nodded.

"Well, you're here already, and I'm here, and I have to practice for my assignment in Glee… and I need a duet partner…" he added on, bit by bit. When she put the pieces together and got what he was asking, her initial reaction was to chuckle.

"You can't be serious…" Except he was. "N-no, but I'm not… I'm not a singer. I mean, I…" she started, but then went back, "I'm not a singer." He picked up her guitar, sitting on a stool, and held it out to her.

"Serious. Just give it a shot. Please? You were nice enough to still come, might as well make something of this," he pointed out. She just stared at him; he was serious. "Please, Lucy. I'll owe you one." She just went on staring at him, like she was weighing her options. Finally, she sighed, sitting up on the stool.

"A big one," she agreed.

"Huge," he confirmed, turning so they were facing each other, each of them positioning their guitar.

"With chocolate," she added, and he smirked, which in turn made her chuckle. "Right, so let's agree I'm not promising anything like that Rachel girl or Mercedes," she pointed her pick at him.

"Got it," he nodded.

"Okay… so what's the song?" she asked, and he began to play. She caught on, just as he began to sing.

_[A] "Hello world / Hope you're listening / Forgive me if I'm young / For speaking out of turn"_

When she found a place to, she began to strum along with him, looking at him as he sang, looking like she was trying to focus on what she was playing, though somewhere in her features there was the concern about what she'd agreed to do.

_[A] "But there's someone I've been missing / I think that they could be / The better half of me / They're in the wrong place trying to make it right / But I'm tired of justifying / So I say to you..._

_Come home / Come home / Cause I've been waiting for you / For so long / For so long / And right now there's a war between the vanities / But all i see is you and me / And the fight for you is all I've ever known / So come home / Oh"_

He'd chosen the song before, not really seeking any kind of message, though now he was almost regretting it, like it would draw him into some sort of pity and regret over what had happened that morning. And then this happened…

_[L] "I get lost in the beauty / Of everything I see / The world ain't half as bad / As they paint it to be / If all the sons / All the daughters / Stopped to take it in / Well then hopefully the hate subsides and the love can begin"_

He looked to Lucy as she sang, and played… he'd actually stopped playing, just so he could listen. All of a sudden it was as though something calm had taken her, where a moment before she'd been fighting back concern. For someone who claimed herself 'not a singer' twice over, she was marvellous to him. How had he not noticed this before? Was this just the post-break up talking or…

_[L] "It might start now... Yeah / Well maybe I'm just dreaming out loud / Until then_

_Come home / Come home / Cause I've been waiting for you / For so long / For so long"_

Except there had been this one time… He was still with Brittany, so he hadn't made any attempt to act on it, but… she did sort of do an uncanny Sue Sylvester. More than that, she had done this right behind the woman's back. He'd thought she was just… kind of amazing. What if he was exaggerating it all…

_[L] "Right now there's a war between the vanities / But all I see is you and me / And the fight for you is all I've ever known / Ever known / So come home / Oh"_

He was so caught up in considering her, figuring her, that he almost missed his cue to join his voice to hers, and his hands started moving over the cords again before he could get himself to start singing… with her. It would feel almost like first contact, wouldn't it? But she looked at him, and then he got it.

_[A/L] "Everything I can't be / Is everything you should be / And that's why I need you here" / [A] "Everything I can't be ([L] "Everything I can't be") / Is everything you should be ([L] "Is everything you should be") / And that's why i need you here" / [A/L] "So hear this now_

_Come home / Come home / Cause I've been waiting for you / For so long / For so long / And right now there's a war between the vanities / But all I see is you and me / And the fight for you is all I've ever known" / [A] "Ever known / So come home / Come home"_

He didn't know… maybe it was just that post-break up confusion of the heart. But then what if it wasn't? What if this was actually something he should pursue? It wouldn't have been right to just jump into anything either way, but… maybe they could at least become something more than casual acquaintances. And maybe he could do something for her…

_[L] "Come home / Come home / I've been waiting for you" / [A] "Come home"_

When the song ended, they both just held the moment for a beat more, and he looked at her with a proud bow of the head. "Now this is my personal opinion, take what you want of it but I thought you were good," he told her, and she smiled. "Very good," he amended, and she waved him off, like 'oh, shucks.' "Very, very good."

"Okay, stop it," she told him; she looked uncomfortable the way someone did that wasn't so used to receiving compliments in such a way.

"One more," he defied her, and she 'braced' herself. "I think you should join us, join Glee Club," he clarified when he saw she was confused. Now she shook her head.

"Hey, I'm good back here," she told him.

"And I'm not arguing that. The band is lucky to have you," he assured her. "But… the Glee Club would be even luckier."

"I don't dance, I haven't… I'd probably make that Finn guy look like Fred Astaire," she estimated.

"Come on, you can't be that bad," he told her, and she laughed. "At least think about it?" She looked back at him. "I'll back you up, completely."

"You're insane," she shook her head.

"I've heard that," he shrugged. "But I'm completely sane here. You belong with us, Lucy," he closed the matter, picking up his guitar. "So… Want to go again?" he asked, and her smile said it all… She would consider it.

THE END

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><p><strong>AN: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.  
><strong>**In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are  
><strong>********always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!********


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